


how fast rumors run

by thundersart



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: BAMF Percy Jackson, Bisexual Percy Jackson, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Canon Compliant, Comfort, Coming Out, Everyone Is Gay, Gay Nico di Angelo, Gen, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Tagging, Internalized Homophobia, LGBTQ, Mentioned Annabeth Chase, Nico Feels, Nico di Angelo & Percy Jackson Friendship, Nico di Angelo Needs a Hug, Percy Jackson is a Good Friend, Percy Jackson is not Nico di Angelo's Type, Post-HoO, Post-The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus), Post-The Heroes of Olympus, Pre-The Trials of Apollo, Protective Percy, Supportive Percy Jackson, a little bit of solangelo, even though they're not dating, i honestly believe the whole camp is gay and i'm going down on it, percy is a bicon, post-BoO, pre-toa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:47:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26015977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thundersart/pseuds/thundersart
Summary: Nico finds out how fast rumors run at Camp Half-Blood and asks Percy if he kept his secret safe.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Percy Jackson
Comments: 13
Kudos: 273





	how fast rumors run

**Author's Note:**

> i need more of percy and nico's friendship, also i really think that connor and nico would be really good friends  
> whoever you love is nobody's business and you should be proud of it  
> 

Nico was starting to get used to staying in the camp. After the war, after the romans had left and the infirmary started to get emptier and emptier, everyone was coming back to their routines. 

In the beginning, Percy and Jason were the only ones who didn’t seem to be nervous to train with him. The others seemed too scared to try sparring with him, and he didn’t know if it was because he’s a son of the Underworld or for being son of one of the Big Three, though Jason and Percy didn’t seem to have this problem. So, when Connor told him it would be a good idea for Nico to help him train some of the unclaimed demigods whose he shared Hermes’ cabin with, he didn’t think it would be a good idea.

“You’re good with the sword. How did you learn?” Connor asked, sitting next to him.

Nico looked away from where Malcolm Pace was sparring with a daughter of Demeter, he didn’t remember her name. “I summoned a ghost to teach me.” he said, trying to find any trace of fear or disgust on his face, but all he saw was a smirk and a little bit of surprise on his eyes.

“How did you train? Summoning zombies to kill them again?” he arched his eyebrow.

Nico shrugged. “Yeah, sort of.”

“Whoa, that’s cool.” he said, and Nico could see he wasn’t lying.

Nico was the one surprised now. He didn’t expect to tell someone he summoned a ghost teacher and a bunch of zombies so that he could kill them again and for anyone to think it was _cool_.

“I had to battle some monsters too when I, um,” _when I freaked out because my sister died and ran away from the camp_. “When I left the camp for a while, before, you know, Luke started to use the labyrinth.”

“So do you think you can give me a hand, di Angelo?” he asked.

Nico hesitated. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” he punched his arm. “Nothing better for young demigods than some zombies!”

Nico frowned. “You’re kidding, right?”

Connor smirked again. “Not really.” he said and looked back at Malcolm and the girl, who now had both their swords in her hands while Malcolm raised his arms, surrendering. “Katie is good too, i could’ve asked her if i didn’t already owe her.”

“Why do you owe her?”

“Before Travis left for college, we were trying to prank one of her sisters but Katie found everything out. Travis got away, that’s the benefit of dating her, but I still owe her because, you know, she lets us prank her sister.” Connor said. “I’m not ever pranking a Demeter kid again. She keeps reminding me of that.”

“Do you have any idea of what she wants from you?” Nico asked.

“If i had any, i would’ve done it already.” he shrugged.

Nico thought for a second. After a while, people stopped staring at him with those weird faces. The last time it happened, it was Piper, and it was just because he had something on his face. He had made friends in the last few weeks. He already had the Argo II crew, Reyna, Connor, who thought the best idea to approach Nico was pranking him. There were also some Apollo kids, Kayla and Austin, and there was Will, but he didn’t seem to fit in that category.

People weren’t scared of him anymore, or disgusted by him, and if they were, they were hiding it very well. Summoning a death fencing teacher wouldn’t change it, right?

“I’ll help you.” Nico said, out of sudden.

“Really?” Connor lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “That’s great, man.”

“You said it’ll be tomorrow, right? Before capture the flag?” Connor nodded.

“I don’t think it’d be a good idea to send them to the game before they can hold a sword right, especially when we’re against Athena and Ares’ cabin.”

“If Athena and Ares’ teamed up, you have no chance, Stoll.” he stared at him.

“ _You_? They got you too?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Nico shrugged, smiling. He knew the plan, and he knew what was going to happen tomorrow. Connor cursed in greek. “But you got Nemesis, Hephaestus and Poseidon.”

“Stop it, di Angelo. Don’t try to play the nice guy here.” he punched his arm again. “You’re competitive as hell, I've seen it last time. You’ll probably laugh your ass off as soon as I leave because you already know who won the game.”

Nico laughed again. “We’ll see.”

“Shut up.” he snapped. “I think—”

Before he could even finish his sentence, they all heard something like an explosion, except it wasn’t loud enough to sound like an attack. Nico stepped up almost immediately and moved his hand to grab his sword. He could see some smoke rising from the woods and was about to run in its direction, but Connor grabbed his arm.

“What—”

“It’s nothing,” he said, his voice extremely calm compared to Nico’s. “It’s probably Harley and some more kids from Hephaestus cabin, I heard they were going to try something today.”

“You _heard_?” Nico didn’t realize how his heartbeat had raced until it started to slow down. He could feel a little bit of dizziness as the adrenaline left his body.

“Yeah, news runs fast here in the camp,” he told him, getting up by his side. “They hadn’t announced what it is yet, but I guess it has something to do with the new thing Chiron had been planning, some kind of war game.”

Nico furrowed. “How do you even know about it?”

“News runs fast. Gossip? Even faster.” he said. “I’m taking a look at it, wanna join?”

“Um, no, i guess.” Nico said as he watched Connor run straight to the woods.

He looked around. No one seemed surprised by it, no one seemed afraid of an attack. The news about it must’ve run really fast then.

After dinner, Nico decided to look for Jason, who he hadn’t seen all day long. He was kind of busy with his new assignment, a promise he made during his time in the Argo II, something about a goddess, a daughter of Poseidon. He was shifting between both camps, but he kept catching up with Nico. He was a good friend.

When he finally found him, he was sitting next to Will Solace in front of the Big House. They were talking about something and Jason seemed very enthusiastic about it, while Will tried to hold a laugh, until he couldn’t keep with that anymore. Will bursted out laughing and Jason stared at him, confused, until the son of Apollo told him something and his ears went red as the strawberries from the field. Will laughed even louder.

He stepped forward, already decided to meet the two of them, until something, like a whisper, came across his mind.

_News runs fast in the camp. Gossip? Even faster._

His thoughts went back to Croatia, when he had to meet Cupid to get the Diocletian’s sceptre. The memory of Jason’s look at him, the spark of confusion, like there was something he didn’t understand, like there was something wrong. He remembered the immense fear he had felt, the wait for harsh, painful words. He had waited for Jason to tell him how bad he was, even worse than the monsters.

Jason had revealed himself supportive to his feelings, to who he was, but still. Jason was an _exception_.

When the son of Zeus found out, all he wanted was to drown him in the Lethe. Cupid had forced him to come out, it was one of the hardest things Nico ever did. And also one of the bravests, Jason said. But Nico hadn’t felt brave, he had felt like he was that ten year-old boy who never left his big sister’s side.

Will… He wanted him to know, but it also scared him. How could he want it so much and also fear it with the same amount?

“Nico?”

Nico blinked. He was so lost in his own thoughts he hadn’t realized when Will and Jason saw him standing there and walked to get to him.

“Are you alright?” Will asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

The son of Hades pushed himself away. There was a spark of pain and confusion on Will’s eyes. “I—” what could he say? “I’m sorry.”

Nico ran away, taking advantage of the darkness of the night to hide in the shadows, like he was so used to. Thankfully, neither of them followed him.

 _Gossip? Even faster_. It repeated in his mind. He cursed in italian. What if Jason told anyone? He had told him he wouldn’t, that it was his decision to make, but what if he changed his mind?

Nico was finally starting to get used to being in the camp. Gods, he was making friends. If that came out, if his _little secret_ came out...

He found himself breathless as he ran to the canoe lake, which was empty. He leaned against a tree and waited, looking at the water. He felt like he was about to cry, but kept the tears from running. _This isn’t real_ , he told himself. _Jason wouldn’t—_

The sound of something dropping in the water caught his attention. Nico’s senses went on alert. He looked around as he heard the same noise again.

“Hey, man,” Nico turned around and grabbed his sword in half a second, pointing it to the sea-green eyed boy next to him. “Whoa, it’s me.”

Nico dropped his shoulders, staring at him. “What the Hades, Percy?”

“Sorry, didn't mean to scare you” Percy said, dropping the rocks he was throwing at the lake and analyzing Nico with his eyes. “You okay, Nico?”

“I’m—”

However Nico was, Percy didn’t get a spoken answer. He saw as Nico’s eyes went from relief to terror. Percy looked back, guessing there could be a harpy behind him or a monster, even if Thalia’s tree was still protecting the camp from them, but he saw nothing. It took awhile for him to figure out that Nico’s gaze had something to do with him.

 _He knows_ , the son of Hades thought.

He told him he had a crush on him after fighting Gaea. _That_ made Nico feel brave, but now? Only now he had figured what he had done. Did Percy tell anyone? He remembered how the news about Leo falling in Ogygia had spread fast in the Argo II. How long would it take for everyone to know his _news_?

“Nico, what happened?” Percy asked, concerned.

“Have you—” Nico stopped, trying to keep his breathing steady. “Have you told anyone about me?”

“About you? What would i…” he paused. Percy gave him an earnest look.

Nico guessed it was because he understood what he was talking about. “Did you...?”

“I didn’t. I would never, Nico,” he cut off. “Annabeth hadn’t told anyone either.”

“Are you sure?”

Percy sighed. “Yes, I am. We didn’t tell anyone. No one will know about it unless you want them to.”

Unless you want them to.

It was sad how comical it was. Jason knew, and he didn’t want him to. Reyna knew too, and Coach, and even though it was Nico’s fault, it wasn’t what he planned. The only person who knew that he was the one to tell, that he truly wanted to know, was Bianca, and then Percy and Annabeth.

But Bianca was dead, and, as Nico found out when the Doors of Death were open, she had rebirth.

“Are you okay?” Percy asked, placing his hand on Nico’s shoulder, but he pulled away just as quickly. He remembered how the son of Hades said multiple times he didn’t appreciate being touched. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he said.

“So,” Percy cleared his throat and sat on a rock next to Nico. “Did anyone say anything? Do you want help kicking someone’s ass?”

“Um, no. I just—” he stopped himself before he could finish that sentence. Nico groaned, sitting down on the grass and leaning against the tree. He hid his face on his hands. “Shit.”

“Hey!” Percy hit his arm slightly. “Watch your language. You’re too young to have a dirty mouth.”

Nico stared at him. “Technically i’m older than you.”

“Shut up, boomer.” he snapped, making a ghost of a smile go through Nico’s face. “Do you want to talk about whatever is bothering you or should I keep saying dumb things until you start to laugh?”

“You don’t need much effort for that.” he said.

“ _Ouch_ , di Angelo. Now you’re hurting my feelings.” he faked an expression of pain. “Come on, tell me what happened.”

Nico wrinkled his nose. He wasn’t sure if Percy would be the best person to talk about it. “I just… freaked out.” he admitted. “Connor told me something about gossip running fast here. I got scared that my _gossip_ was already running too.”

Percy gave him a sad smile, as if he understood the feeling. “It’s always hard in the beginning. It feels like everyone knows, that everyone is thinking about it, right?”

Nico nodded. “It was easier when the only person who knew it was dead.” he said, his voice getting lower at the last word. 

“It’s just like that feeling when you do something wrong and feels like anyone will find out anytime sooner,” he cracked a smile. He seemed to be remembering all the times he felt like that after making a mess, but then his eyes widened and his smile disappeared. “Um, not that I'm saying that it is wrong. There’s nothing wrong with being gay.” he added quickly.

Nico tensed when Percy said the word. He wasn’t used to hearing it without being an insult. He didn’t even say it out loud or think about it, trying to avoid the shame and guilt he felt every time it happened.

Percy grimaced and sighed. “Look, what i’m saying is that you don’t have to worry about me. I’m not telling anyone, neither is Annabeth. But if anything happens, if anyone finds out, no one will react badly, you know.” he said with an earnest look. “The camp is a safe space, and not talking about just monsters. I don’t think anyone here has a problem with it, but what i’m sure is that if anyone does, there’s a lot of people to back you up. I’d love to kick someone’s ass if they talk shit about it.”

“Watch your language. You’re too young to have a dirty mouth, Jackson.” Nico said, smirking as he repeated the same line Percy used on him.

“Oh, I'm sorry, grandpa.” he replied, making Nico laugh. “But like, seriously, if anyone says any shit— anything bad about it, i swear i’m going to beat the hell out of them. I’m not letting anyone go through all of this without any backup or support too.”

Nico frowned when Percy said _too_ , but didn’t really pay attention to it. “Why are you being so nice about it?”

“Because, first of all, you’re my friend, Nico,” he made sure to look directly into Nico’s eyes to say it, emphasizing the word _friend_. He turned his gaze back to the lake and let out a long breath. “And, also, I promised you I was going to protect your sister and I failed.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Nico said. “I know that now.”

“Still, I made a promise, and I broke it. I couldn’t protect her, but I'm protecting you. I know how much it hurts to keep telling yourself that there’s something wrong with you, and there’s not, there’s nothing wrong with you.”

“What do you—”

“I know how you must feel, Nico,” he said, not letting the son of Hades talk. "It's very hard to overcome the things you’ve been hearing your entire life. They told you you should do this, do that, definitely don’t do that, and all of this stuff. They pushed it so deep in our heads it’s hard to take it off.”

“ _Ours_? How do you even—”

“I’ve been hearing this kind of thing during my whole childhood. My old stepfather used to talk shit about gay people all the time. Every now and then he said how it was bad and wrong and it stuck in my head. But here’s the thing, it isn’t bad, it isn’t wrong.” he said, grabbing a rock next to his left foot and throwing it in the lake. Percy looked at Nico, seeing the mix of surprise and confusion on his face. “I’m bi. I found out I liked boys when I was around ten or eleven, and I always knew I liked girls as well. I told my mom about a few weeks after my first quest, when Gabe was gone already. I came out to Grover and Annabeth the summer after that. All of them were very supportive and after a while I just stopped hiding.”

It was almost funny how wide Nico’s eyes were. He would have laughed if he didn’t know it was a sensitive topic for the son of Hades.

“There’s some people in the camp who know too. Beckendorf and Silena knew, I had told him and she found out eventually, but I don't know if it was a children of Aphrodite’s thing or if I was being too obvious. Jason and Piper know too, the Stolls. I don’t know, actually. I’ve never officially came out but I never tried to hide it either.” he shrugged. “The thing is, a lot of people know and it’s okay, you know? And I'm not the only one. There’s a girl in Demeter’s cabin who’s dating a daughter of Hecate. Nyssa came out as a lesbian a few months ago. Sherman has a pan flag under his bed and I think Miranda once said she was demisexual. Will came out as bi after the Battle of Manhattan and sometimes even Rachel comments something about how hard it is to be a maiden when there are so many cute boys and girls around. The only time we had to deal with a homophobe was like three years ago, but you should’ve seen what everyone did to him. I almost felt bad for the dude.”

Percy placed his hand on Nico’s shoulder again, and this time he didn’t pull back.

“Is your choice. You can stay in the closet for as long as you want, you don’t have to come out. But if you want to and feel ready to do it, no one will judge you, no one will say anything rude or whatever, and if anyone does, just wait and see. Everyone will back you up, because there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being gay.” Percy said the word for the third time that day, and it didn’t hurt that much anymore.

He had heard it already from Jason, and even Reyna told him it was okay, that it was who he was and that there was nothing wrong with that. Somewhy, hearing it from Percy, hearing that there were so many people like him around him and that people were okay with it made him feel like the weight on his shoulders had decreased.

“Thank you.” Nico said.

Percy cracked a smile. “You’re welcome, Nico. And, really, if you ever need anything, you can always Iris Message me.”

Nico frowned. “Are you leaving?”

“The summer is almost over. I’m going home this weekend. I need to finish school. But I’m not leaving until I can kick your ass during capture the flag.” he smirked, standing up and giving Nico a hand.

The son of Hades grabbed it, getting up too. “Best of luck with that. We’re totally crushing you tomorrow.”

“We’ll see, di Angelo.” Percy said, patting him on the back. “Now come on, I bet Apollo's cabin is already singing by the campfire.”

Percy threw the last rock on his hand in the lake and walked with Nico until they could hear the singing.

“Hey, where were you?” Will Solace asked low as soon as Nico sat next.

Nico saw on the other side of the campfire when Percy put his arm around Annabeth. She nestled comfortably against his side. “How much of the singing did I miss?” he asked, ignoring his question purposefully.

“Not much, we just started.” the son of Apollo shrugged. “What do I have to do for you to sing along this time?”

“Not happening, Solace.” Nico replied. Will just rolled his eyes and smiled.

“I’ll make you sing someday, even if i have to curse you for that.” he elbowed Nico before turning back to one of his siblings who was playing a guitar.

Nico stared at Will for a couple more seconds, trying to cover up a smile when he reminded himself of Percy’s words. _Will came out as bi after the Battle of Manhattan_. Suddenly, he wasn’t that terrified with the idea of the son of Apollo finding out about him. Part of him thought it’d even be a good idea if he knew.

Maybe he could tell him, someday. For now, he could only focus on how that place, those people, were looking more like a home than he ever thought it could.

Maybe Reyna was right. May he did have a home.

For once, he didn’t think about leaving.

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you thought about it :D


End file.
